I recorded an interview for the blog radio program Literary New England, scheduled to air on January 2 at 8:00 PM ET. There are some stellar authors on the same program, including Nathaniel Philbrick and Brock Clarke (An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England). They'll be giving away a few copies of The Taker during the program. You should be able to access it here.

In other news, the first pass pages for The Reckoning arrived today. This is the author’s last chance to make significant changes to the manuscript; after this, changes will impact the publisher’s production schedule and are generally frowned upon. It’s a nerve-wracking time for an author anyway, but having the pages arrive on the same day that a major review comes out is particularly . . . challenging.

The thing about this profession that makes it worthwhile (to me) is being seized with an idea for a new story. It’s like those giddy first days of a new romance, when you can’t wait to see each other again and want to spend all your time together. Right before Christmas, I got the idea for a standalone historical novel that I am really excited about. I managed to get four chapters written even as I was cleaning house and cooking for twenty Christmas day, but now must put the story aside to polish up those first pass pages.

That’s all the news for now. What are your plans for New Year’s? Anyone planning to curl up with a new book and a glass of eggnog?

3 comments:

Alma, for the New Year I will be going through my first pass pages and writing Book 3, which is due to my editor in April. I've also been invited to attend some book club parties. That should be fun. I hope to see you again soon.